Defensive Coordinator

[clawman1]

Baldwin needs to have a sit down and tell the D that what we're doing now isn't working.

I think maybe, just maybe, the defense knows that. Do you think they like to lose?

 

[kalm]

Just a simple thought. You put 46 points on the tremendous defense of the MVC.
Your defense could have been better, but you lost by 2 scores after 3 turnovers, thus changing time of possession.
I forget the fumble, however the two int's were poor throws. VA seemed off all day yesterday and even Kupp dropped a couple uncharacteristic of his performance level.
Just saying it didn't look all on defense.
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/scores/final/boxscore.aspx?GAMEID=46406" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Look at stats and they show yards per play were in your advantage against the vaunted MVC.
Also not saying ISU didn't deserve the win, but the difference was turnovers.

Post by clawman » Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:50 pm

LDopaPDX wrote:
Baldwin needs to have a sit down and tell the D that what we're doing now isn't working.

I think maybe, just maybe, the defense knows that. Do you think they like to lose?

Both of these right here. :nod:

I'm guessing no one is wondering about a change at D more than Graham himself. We gave up over 50 points 4 times this season, albeit to great offenses, but that's not gonna cut it. However, keep in mind that every team in the quarters including NDSU gave up at least 30 points. Just the week before, the 14th rated D in FCS, UNI, gave up 41 points to ISU and that's while winning the turnover battle 3-2. The highly vaunted MVFC defenses gave up 40 to depleted Montana State, 35 to Chatty, 46 to us, and 32 to Coastal. I'm not saying other playoff teams would have given up 50 points four times this season but given the injuries we've sustained and those four offenses, some of them might have.

The game is changing and it's not a fun time to be a defensive coordinator.

But a few more historical points and rebuttals to all that has been said:

1) Graham and company did indeed achieve with Paul Wulff's athletes. Anybody remember 2008 when we started 2-4 but won 5-6 down the stretch including an upset of BSC co-champs Weber State which kept them from hosting in the first round? We gave 26 points to Weber in that win and going back the other 5 games we gave up 19, 17, 15,16, and 13 for a total average of 17.

In 2009, Graham forgot how to coach again the final two games, giving up 45 to NAU and 44 to SFA in the first round loss.

Then in 2010…

2) I'm willing to bet that Graham doesn't recruit the entire defense, nor is he the final say in scholarship allocations.

So is it the caliber of athletes we've recruited? I've seen many say the opposite, that we have athletes on both sides of the ball so it must be the scheme. But we were truly decimated with injuries this year on a team that was thin at d-line and corner to begin with. Hamlin was hobbled the most of the season, and both he McCarthy appeared slow and often were exposed without a front 4 that could sustain any push. You're just not going to win many battles with an -as yet to be fully developed- 19 year old versus a cornfed 330 pound midwest 22 year old.

Schematically, it's not as if we didn't try different things. I seem to remember several changes throughout the season based on personnel and situation. We sometimes ran a 52 with Tevin dropping down into run support. Sometimes we'd sit back and keep the game in front of us, but we also called some more aggressive games with increased blitzing (the second Montana game). We took our chances against the Redbirds several times on Saturday, and nearly every time we did, Roberson torched us with a big play. That was one hell of team we played.

This is all a long way of saying that fans are all over the board on what has happened and what should happen.

What I do know is this is a damn fine coaching staff from top to bottom and I have nothing but faith that they'll do the things necessary to improve.

Goeags.

 

[JoinTheEAF]

Coach Graham isn't going anywhere. Football is a team game, our turnovers and an early special teams mistake hurt us. We had a chance to pin them inside the 5 early on and didn't quite make it to the ball. This is the Big Sky, it's a league where offense rules and generally defensive coordinators struggle all over the country. I will say what many of us long time fans feel-if you are so unhappy join Cougar nation. There's a program that will welcome your complaining. You can even skip the second half and not let the game interrupt your tailgating. Coach Sawyer is our d-line coach. Please come to the Killin Dinner and express your opinions to him regarding our defense. I would really enjoy watching that.

 

[Vic E. Wallace]

MLEagle,
I disagree with your sentiments. Coach Baldwin will be the one to get rid of Coaches if need be, we as Fans can express our feelings. ILL ST. simply was the better team on Saturday, and they "kicked our Butts" we can't afford to blame others for our loss. Our Team played and did the best they could. I am not pointing any fingers, I have learned from prior experience. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: We are so used to winning, it is hard for us to accept a defeat. All we can do now "BUD" is hope we can do better next year. I had picked us to win by 2 Touchdowns, that was null and void Saturday. Today I was listening to the OSSO show on AM 700, they stated they walk by the big tend in the lot, they heard someone in the tent just ranting hoping that some Coach would leave , the tent had a heater in it, I think it is the tent that we use for the Alumni Entertainment. I wouldn't say what they said, it wasn't nice, and I agree with them. Maybe the Alcohol was talking, even though no Alcohol is authorized by NCAA. Thanks for your input. Sorry for my book . Vic Wallace

 

[EAGLEFUZZ]

I heard the clip on am 700...I took it as a tailgate spot not alumni tent...I have a feeling I know the tailgate spot in question as it is close to ours. I have heard this loud obnoxious ass clown blow hard talk all season. Our D needs a couple of big boys that demand a double team. Right now we don't have that. We will reload and bring it next year.

 

[MLEagle]

MLEagle,
I disagree with your sentiments. Coach Baldwin will be the one to get rid of Coaches if need be, we as Fans can express our feelings. ILL ST. simply was the better team on Saturday, and they "kicked our Butts" we can't afford to blame others for our loss. Our Team played and did the best they could. I am not pointing any fingers, I have learned from prior experience. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: We are so used to winning, it is hard for us to accept a defeat. All we can do now "BUD" is hope we can do better next year. I had picked us to win by 2 Touchdowns, that was null and void Saturday. Today I was listening to the OSSO show on AM 700, they stated they walk by the big tend in the lot, they heard someone in the tent just ranting hoping that some Coach would leave , the tent had a heater in it, I think it is the tent that we use for the Alumni Entertainment. I wouldn't say what they said, it wasn't nice, and I agree with them. Maybe the Alcohol was talking, even though no Alcohol is authorized by NCAA. Thanks for your input. Sorry for my book . Vic Wallace

Vic, I regret my initial post and retracted that saying that I shouldn't have called for the DC's job. However, any which way that we choose to sugarcoat the defensive performance it has been awful. The only way it could have been worse is if they would have scored every single time they had the ball to hang 66 on us instead of the 59 that they scored.

 

[Vic E. Wallace]

MLEagle,
I do agree with you, our defense went on vacation early during that game. We had a very bad day on Saturday, everything wrong that could happen, happened to us. We ran up against a damn good team. Congratulation on your retraction earlier. I even told coach Baldwin, If our defense played like we played against Montana, no one was going to defeat us. Honestly I had us going to UNH to play, but came up short. Had I not seen what was happening, and saw 50+ points on the score board, I would have taught EWU Was in the lead. W/O sugarcoating the Defense, you must admit those Players from the Redbirds, were some "Big Ass Dudes", and they used all their weight to push us around. Nothing negative, just telling it like it is. I think they will defeat UNH, and possible FCS Champions, comes January 2015.Vic

 

[MLEagle]

MLEagle,
I do agree with you, our defense went on vacation early during that game. We had a very bad day on Saturday, everything wrong that could happen, happened to us. We ran up against a damn good team. Congratulation on your retraction earlier. I even told coach Baldwin, If our defense played like we played against Montana, no one was going to defeat us. Honestly I had us going to UNH to play, but came up short. Had I not seen what was happening, and saw 50+ points on the score board, I would have taught EWU Was in the lead. W/O sugarcoating the Defense, you must admit those Players from the Redbirds, were some "Big Ass Dudes", and they used all their weight to push us around. Nothing negative, just telling it like it is. I think they will defeat UNH, and possible FCS Champions, comes January 2015.Vic

You absolutely right about the size of both their offensive and defensive lines, their size was the first thing I noticed in the first series.

Not taking anything away from ISU, they were the best team we played all season outside of UW.

 

[marceagfan5]

I think a lot of people were frustrated after Saturday, myself included, but hard to be disappointed with such a great season.

Moving forward I think we are going to be fine, we should have a fantastic team next year. We have a really difficult schedule, but should be a preseason top 5 team for sure.

On Offense, we will be as good as ever. We lose Forte and a couple Olineman, but really return everyone else. We will be just fine, probably better than ever on this side of the ball.

Defense is what it is. Sometimes we just seem like we can't stop people. ISU's line was HUGE and they just utterly dominated us. In the last three years, we have given up an average of 46 points per game in our 3 playoff defeats. Would love to see us blitz more and play press coverage on the outside, not let the run beat us every year in the playoffs. I trust the staff, they are there for a reason, and I'm sure they will do what they need to in order to put us in the best position to win next year.

This team and program has come a long way in the last few years, and has a lot more to look forward to moving forward.

Always a great day to be an Eagle.

 

[LDopaPDX]

I think a lot of people were frustrated after Saturday, myself included, but hard to be disappointed with such a great season.

Moving forward I think we are going to be fine, we should have a fantastic team next year. We have a really difficult schedule, but should be a preseason top 5 team for sure.

On Offense, we will be as good as ever. We lose Forte and a couple Olineman, but really return everyone else. We will be just fine, probably better than ever on this side of the ball.

Defense is what it is. Sometimes we just seem like we can't stop people. ISU's line was HUGE and they just utterly dominated us. In the last three years, we have given up an average of 46 points per game in our 3 playoff defeats. Would love to see us blitz more and play press coverage on the outside, not let the run beat us every year in the playoffs. I trust the staff, they are there for a reason, and I'm sure they will do what they need to in order to put us in the best position to win next year.

This team and program has come a long way in the last few years, and has a lot more to look forward to moving forward.

Always a great day to be an Eagle.

I guess that is what is so frustrating.... we are so close that if we just played coherent defense consistently, we'd be awfully tough to beat. It feels like any team with the patience to just grind out first down after first down destroys us. Our D plays so passive that they basically gift 6 yards more plays than not. They just don't seem to take attacking risks, aside from a safety or MLB blitz here and there.

The scary thing next season is the schedule. Oregon is daunting. They play the absolute WORST kind of style for our D... Plus, if we get nothing out of that game, going into UNI and Montana State with no confidence makes for a tough start. We *could* beat both of those teams, but we could just as easily lose both.

 

[LDopaPDX]

Also, it seems like the quality of the top tier of the FCS improves every year. Illinois State has ridiculous levels of talent. I suspect North Dakota State is on a similar level. Being better than the 2010 version of Delaware isn't wining national championships anymore.

I think that's what has Montana people so confused... they see a talent level on their team similar to what they had with their monster teams of 10-15 years ago and can't understand why they can't replicate the same success. The difference is the competition, the top 10 teams in FCS now are practically comparable to decent FBS mid-majors or even some BCS level teams. Would anyone pick Illinois to beat Illinois State? I don't even think it would be close...

 

[marceagfan5]

I think a lot of people were frustrated after Saturday, myself included, but hard to be disappointed with such a great season.

Moving forward I think we are going to be fine, we should have a fantastic team next year. We have a really difficult schedule, but should be a preseason top 5 team for sure.

On Offense, we will be as good as ever. We lose Forte and a couple Olineman, but really return everyone else. We will be just fine, probably better than ever on this side of the ball.

Defense is what it is. Sometimes we just seem like we can't stop people. ISU's line was HUGE and they just utterly dominated us. In the last three years, we have given up an average of 46 points per game in our 3 playoff defeats. Would love to see us blitz more and play press coverage on the outside, not let the run beat us every year in the playoffs. I trust the staff, they are there for a reason, and I'm sure they will do what they need to in order to put us in the best position to win next year.

This team and program has come a long way in the last few years, and has a lot more to look forward to moving forward.

Always a great day to be an Eagle.

I guess that is what is so frustrating.... we are so close that if we just played coherent defense consistently, we'd be awfully tough to beat. It feels like any team with the patience to just grind out first down after first down destroys us. Our D plays so passive that they basically gift 6 yards more plays than not. They just don't seem to take attacking risks, aside from a safety or MLB blitz here and there.

The scary thing next season is the schedule. Oregon is daunting. They play the absolute WORST kind of style for our D... Plus, if we get nothing out of that game, going into UNI and Montana State with no confidence makes for a tough start. We *could* beat both of those teams, but we could just as easily lose both.

Ya, our Out of conference schedule is a beast next year. UNI will be a lot like Ill State was this year, Oregon is a nightmare matchup for us, and MSU gave us fits this year. We literally will be playing two top 10 FCS teams and possibly the FBS defending national champ in our 3 OOC, yikes!

As long as we don't have many injuries, I think we will be fine in conference next year and should win it again. We need to find a defense that can win in the playoffs. I'd like to see a more aggressive style on D and if our defense can hold team to even 30, we should win almost every game, it was like we knew our D wasn't great this year so we relied on outscoring teams and we just couldn't outscore ISU in the last one.

 

[dudeitsaid]

MLEagle,
I do agree with you, our defense went on vacation early during that game. We had a very bad day on Saturday, everything wrong that could happen, happened to us. We ran up against a damn good team. Congratulation on your retraction earlier. I even told coach Baldwin, If our defense played like we played against Montana, no one was going to defeat us. Honestly I had us going to UNH to play, but came up short. Had I not seen what was happening, and saw 50+ points on the score board, I would have taught EWU Was in the lead. W/O sugarcoating the Defense, you must admit those Players from the Redbirds, were some "Big Ass Dudes", and they used all their weight to push us around. Nothing negative, just telling it like it is. I think they will defeat UNH, and possible FCS Champions, comes January 2015.Vic

You absolutely right about the size of both their offensive and defensive lines, their size was the first thing I noticed in the first series.

Not taking anything away from ISU, they were the best team we played all season outside of UW.

I watched the UNI game against SFA. And SFA was a bubble team, so I know they may not have been the best gauge for UNI's quality, but UNI looked like men among boys in that game. Then I watched the ISU vs UNI rematch. ISU looked so smooth and balanced on offense, and solid on defense. It was the first time I had watched ISU this season. I was surprised at the QB's stats, because he looked flawless through much of that game. I knew if they played like the did against UNI against us, we would have to have a perfect game.

They won the toss, and deferred. We often like to get the ball first in the second half. But instead, we had the ball first, and they set the tone by stopping us on our first offensive series. They took the momentum from the beginning with that stop and subsequent score, even though it was only a field goal. Then we had the fumble on our next offensive series, and we were in trouble. In past games, including against UW, our D was able to do enough to get enough stops to get us back into the game. We've been in plenty of situations over the last few years where we've dug out of a hole because our D did "enough".

ISU played a great game in every phase. Their offensive execution will be a challenge for any D, no matter how good they are. They have many weapons, like we do. But they executed more precisely than we did. I personally do see them taking the whole thing this year, especially if they keep playing the way they have their first two games of the postseason. And, with their returning players, we will likely have to go through them at some point next year to win the whole thing.

Our team is a great team. We just got beat by another great team. It's going to take our best game to win the whole thing next year, and it wasn't really our best game against ISU in any area.

 

[Obzerver]

dude, actually EWU won the toss and elected to receive the ball. Some football people I was watching the game with weren't surprised(I was). They said Baldwin knew we were going to have a very hard time stopping the Redbirds and that we needed to score first to stay on top of things and give ourselves the best chance to win...wish we would have scored on that first drive.

 

[dudeitsaid]

dude, actually EWU won the toss and elected to receive the ball. Some football people I was watching the game with weren't surprised(I was). They said Baldwin knew we were going to have a very hard time stopping the Redbirds and that we needed to score first to stay on top of things and give ourselves the best chance to win...wish we would have scored on that first drive.

Was it? I was listening to the broadcast and there seemed to be some confusion. And when we ended up receiving, I thought for sure we must've lost the toss. In any case, it seems to be more common for us to defer, and that has worked out well for us on most occasions. But we could have set the tone with a quick score.

 

[GROUND&POUND]

There is a huge focus on finding blazing fast players in this years 2015 class. By that I mean on the OL / DL as much as the skill positions. I believe in this staff on both sides of the ball. We'll make the plays we all want to see on defense in 2015 and beyond. We have some special players coming in to EWU, and I'm confident we will get those stops we are all looking for. The defense also has several players coming back that played young.

You will also see us lining up in a base odd (5-2 or 3-4) this year to better suit some of the speed we already have and that coming in. We will also see a few OL moved over to defense in the new look.

 

[GROUND&POUND]

What I do know is this is a damn fine coaching staff from top to bottom and I have nothing but faith that they'll do the things necessary to improve.

Goeags.

I agree 100%.

...and don't for one second look past the quality of person and people we are talking about here. Make no mistake they make a difference in the quality of talent we get at EWU. I know a recruit that chose to play for EWU over Cal, Oregon, and many other schools. This coaching staff was a huge part of his decision.

 

[DefendtheRed]

It will be interesting to see what changes are made in the off-season. I doubt anyone leaves the current coaching staff, but you'd have to think that something needs to be changed.

 

[Eaglefanatical]

It will be interesting to see what changes are made in the off-season. I doubt anyone leaves the current coaching staff, but you'd have to think that something needs to be changed.

There's going to be a couple changes.

 

[krg281]

In coaches, defensive schemes, players or positions?